Gallant (REWRITING)

014

"Gallant"

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"Yeah, of course it is! You're so silly." She giggled. "Why wouldn't it be me?"

For a moment all I could do was stare in disbelief. Could this be a dream? To test that question, I pinched myself, but nothing happened. So the only choice I had was to believe that she was really there and everything before was a dream. Right?

But that didn't answer why she was in my home. In my confused state, I hesitantly asked, "What are you doing here, Avery?" I'd hoped she'd be able to give an answer that would explain all this, and so I held my breath as I awaited her response.

"What do you mean? You said.." Avery paused for a moment, a frown coating her lips. "You said I could live with you! You said you'd take care of me. So why are you..?" Her eyes began to water. "Are you going to kick me out?"

Unfortunately her answer only confused me more. I let out a deep breath and massaged my temples. "Of course not, Avery. I'd never do something like that." I guess I'd just go along with it for now. Hopefully I'd get more answers later. Avery didn't respond, and it made me feel quite guilty.

I sighed lightly. "Sorry about that! I'm just a bit out of it." I cleared my throat before making my way to the sofa and sat next to her. She continued to be silent as I sat beside her. "Don't worry, Avery, I promise. Okay?"

She wiped her tears away and gave a small smile. "Okay! But you better not break it!" She said.

"I won't." I responded before giving her a reassuring smile. Then came more silence that I had to break. "...Hey, you're really smart, Avery." I said randomly. She looked around the age of 7, but she talked as though she was a lot older. She's way smarter than I was when I was around that age.

"I know! Mommy.." She paused, a frown coating her lips before she smiled again. "She used to call me a genius!" I raised a brow. Her mood suddenly changed. Why? I sighed. Another question I have. Everything about this situation was confusing, but I decided to shrug it off.

I laughed lightly. "You seem smarter than people your age, so no wonder."

She ignored me, and asked, "You're a journalist, right?" My eyes widened at the sudden question. How'd she know I was a journalist? I didn't think I could get more confused, but clearly I could.

"Yeah. Why?" I asked her hesitantly, and I started feeling nervous. This situation.. this whole situation.. I let out a quiet sigh.

"So, you get to write for the newspaper and stuff?" She asked with excitement. The nervous feeling suddenly washed away. Maybe I was worrying for no reason? I had a terrible feeling she'd say something about what happened at Freddy Fazbear's, but she didn't..

"Yep! I want to work as a detective though. I think it would be more fun, but.." I paused. After all of that, could I really work with the police? Even if Avery is sitting here and none of that happened, I still feel like a coward. I'm still scared of the thought of that situation, so..

Could I really?

"It's okay! Working with them can be scary, right? There are bad guys and bad stuff could happen!" She responded, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I nodded. Bad things could happen. That was obvious, but I didn't know if I'd be able to deal with those situations if I ever got caught up in one.

"Let's change the topic.." I stopped myself. What else could we even talk about? I wasn't really good with talking with kids, not even Karson. I thought for a moment before getting interrupted.

"Can we go to Freddy's?" She asked. My mind went blank at the sudden question, and my heart sped up. "Please?" She begged.

I really wanted to say no. I really wanted to tell her I'd never go there ever again, but..

"Pleassseeeee!" She said. I couldn't say no. I'd just upset her and I didn't want that. So, I'd guess I'd be going to that damned place again.

"Okay, fine." I forced out a laugh. "We'll go." I smiled lightly.

I really should have said no.

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Going back to Freddy Fazbear's... uh oh.
Hope you enjoyed! ♡